Justin Lester, Local Government visits Tawa Rotary 16 August 2016

Justin Lester, Deputy Mayor Wellington City Council and Mayoral candidate spoke at our Rotary meeting on Tues 16 August 2016. Pictured from the left are Justin Lester and Malcolm Sparrow - source: Kris Dando, stuff.co.nz.

Justin Lester, Deputy Mayor Wellington City Council and Mayoral candidate spoke at our Rotary meeting on Tues 16 August 2016.

Justin has been deputy mayor of Wellington since 2013. He lives in Johnsonville with his wife Liz and their two young daughters. He has a law degree from Otago University and a Master of Laws from Heidelberg University. Justin has an employment background in property and asset management, as well as in commercial real estate.

He co-founded and owns the Kapai chain of food stores in Wellington and Auckland, employing a total of 50 people. He is member of Wellington SPCA and a former board member of Capital Football.

Justin was first elected as a city councillor for the northern ward in 2010 when he topped the poll, no mean feat for a ‘newbie’. He topped the poll in the northern ward again in 2013. He is currently working very hard campaigning to be the next mayor of Wellington City.

He stated that he supports the proposed airport runway extension if the business case stacks up. He expects that “increased access to the world”, particularly Asia, will provide substantial economic benefits for Wellington but the project is dependent on support from central Government.

Justin does not support amalgamation with Porirua because although that might result in a reduction of more than 10% for Porirua ratepayers, it would mean an increase of 3-4% in rates for Wellington residents, for no perceived benefit.

He spoke positively about the proposed convention centre / movie museum and how he expects that to be a boon for the city. He supports improved transport options with the Petone to Grenada highway and the Mt Victoria and Terrace tunnel projects, and backs the quest of the new Urban Development Agency to look at more affordable housing options.

As Justin is not standing in the northern ward again, his mayoral campaign is a do-or-die effort. He will either be the next Mayor of Wellington or looking for a new direction in life come October.

Josh Woolf supporting youth

Josh Woolf is visiting Tawa Rotary on 23 August – he’s involved with supporting Porirua youth and the Naenae Computer Clubhouse. This clubhouse is an after-school club for young people aged 10-18 years, where they learn new skills with robotics, animation, 3D design, arts & crafts, sound recording, video production, graphic design, game creation and more. Naenae Computer Clubhouse is part of a network of 120 Computer Clubhouses around the world – a global community in 2 countries providing 25000 youth per year access to resources, skills and experience to help them succeed in their careers, contribute to their communities and lead outstanding lives.

Upcoming Events

Date (2016)

Event

Intro/Liaison

23 August

Josh Woolf - Porirua Youth & Naenae Computer Clubhouse

Pat Waite

30 August

Anthony Simon, Advances in Pharmacy

Gary Denton

6 September

Councillor Malcolm Sparrow and candidate, Judith Gray

Richard Herbert

13 September

Stephen Jay, Gen Manager Grid Development,Transpower

Darshan Shetty

20 September

Projects Update & Rotary Exchange Student -Gaëlle Ibarguen

President Andrew

27 September

Dr Ken Gledhill, Director GeoNet "Forecasting Earthquakes"

Rotary grants for youth

Please help find suitable candidates aged 16-23 years who could apply for grants from the Rotary Club of Terrace End Memorial Educational Trust. This is for young people who need assistance with a project or undertaking that may not fit the usual kind of endeavour for which funding may be sought.

Applicants can be chosen from the fields of academic, vocational, cultural, sporting and recreational activities. Applications close last Friday in August - 26 August 2016. Background information and application forms are available from the Club’s website.

Fundraiser – Gillies McIndoe Research Institute

Friday 26 August - the Rotary Club of Wellington is raising funds for the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute (GMRI) – you may recall Tawa Rotary’s visit to GMRI hosted by Dr Swee Tan, Executive Director and Paul Baines, Chair.

In association with the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation, a musical evening featuring emerging young opera singers will be held at St Andrews on the Terrace in Wellington.

The event involves good classical vocal music, especially from the rising stars of the opera world. Drinks and canapés will be served and, after the concert, a charity auction will feature items that include: an original signed watercolour painting by Dame Kiri, the first page of her shooting script for Downton Abbey signed by the cast, a presentation by Swee Tan and tour of the GMRI, a holiday for two in Queenstown, a superyacht cruise by Peter Cottier, a bottle of John Key wine signed by the Prime Minister, and tickets to Sweeny Todd.

Onesie day – Wellington Free Ambulance

As the only free ambulance service in the country, Wellington Free Ambulance are teaming up with many businesses, local schools and hundreds of our wonderful volunteers to raise funds on Onesie Day, Friday 9 September.

Take part in Onesie Day, support your local community and help Wellington Free raise valuable funds. You can volunteer to collect, make a donation or hold a Onesie Day in the workplace for a gold coin donation. Visit their website for more information: www.wfa.org.nz/onesieday.

If you'd like to help in any way, either on the day as a collector or in any other way please call / email directly Helen the Fundraiser Manager at Wellington Free Ambulance on - 027 622 1518 or helen.carter@wfa.org.nz

Leadership Development with Rotary Leadership Institute

Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is for everyone involved in Rotary. It gives members the chance to see how they, their club and District fit into the greater picture of Rotary International and how all the different bits work. No matter if members have just joined Rotary or have belonged for many years, all are welcome to participate.

We are planning RLI 2 to be held on Sunday 28th of August. The venue is to be confirmed but is tentatively the Levin Fire Station.

We are planning to arrive for registration at 9 for a 9.30 start and aim to be finished by about 3.30pm. There is a cost of $20 to cover lunch and tea & coffee throughout the day.

This should be a fun, informative day with lots of interaction. If you have members who are keen to do RLI but have not completed RLI 1 they are welcome to come and can pick up the first module at another time.

Please let me know by Thursday 25th August so we can organise catering.

District News

District Governor Martin Garcia’s message: ‘August is Membership and New Club Development Month. The Club Development Committee has come up with an innovative approach that encourages Clubs to increase membership while offering a Club two free registrations to the District Conference in New Plymouth in April next year.’ Read more.